Electronic device with a variable keyboard

ABSTRACT

A main side of the device ( 10 ) has a keyboard with keys ( 4 A,  5 A,  4 C) and a display ( 6 ). According to the invention, part of the keyboard ( 4 ) can be moved between two operational positions for which the device retains the same size: a first position called reduced keyboard (and large display) (FIGS.  1 C,  1 D) and a second position with an extended keyboard (and a small display) (FIGS.  1 A,  1 B). The keys that are accessible for one position are inaccessible for another position and vice versa.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to an electronic device with a mainside having user connection means such as a keyboard with keys and adisplay.

[0002] Portable electronic devices can be held in hand such ascalculators, pagers, organizers and other calculation or communicationdevices, such as mobile telephones or cordless telephones. Such devicesare ever smaller and lighter and the functions and services they provideincrease. It thus becomes possible to combine various devices. However,the size reduction notably of present-day mobile telephones isrestricted by several components whose size is not easy to reduce, suchas the keyboard or the display. It is possible to use a device with asliding or tilting keyboard, but in open position the keys on thesliding or tilting part are not easy to handle: only the main part isheld in hand and there is no firm support for a pressure on this or thatkey on the sliding or tilting flap that supports the keys of thekeyboard.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] From European patent EP-A-0 472 361 is notably known a portableworkstation comprising a personal computer and a mobile telephone in oneand the same construction. This device comprises a pivoting keyboardpart that enables to change from a mobile telephone keyboard to akeyboard of a personal computer, which change is accompanied with thechange from a small display to a large display. During this movement,however, the size of the device is notably increased and the keys of themobile telephone keyboard remain accessible, not protected, and may beoperated inadvertently.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] According to the invention, the drawbacks of the prior art arediminished or suppressed thanks to the fact that the electronic deviceindicated in the first paragraph is characterized in that a first partof the keyboard is fixed and that a second part, permanently firmlyattached to said device, comprises positioning means so that it ismovable between two operational positions for which said device retainsan invariable size, a first position in which said keyboard is calledreduced and a second position in which said keyboard is called extended,and such that the change from one position to the other renders the keysof the keyboard accessible to said user for the end position and keys ofthe keyboard inaccessible for the starting position.

[0005] In this manner, the change from an electronic device to a deviceof another configuration but having the same size is complete andexclusive and a correct push on the keys of the keyboard is ensured forboth configurations.

[0006] Preferably, in the second position, with the keyboard extended,the movable part of the keyboard masks part of said display. Thus, thechange from an extended keyboard to a reduced keyboard is accompaniedwith an enlargement of the display.

[0007] A preferred embodiment of the invention is characterized in thatsaid movable part of the keyboard comprises pivoting means for pivotingfrom one to the other around a hinge located on said main side, betweenan edge of the display and an edge of the first fixed part of thekeyboard, and in that this movable part of the keyboard comprises a keyconfiguration on each of its main sides, and connection means forconnecting to electronic elements located inside the housing of thedevice.

[0008] Advantageously, the connection means are formed by a flat cableof conducting wires which run across the main side of the device througha recess made at the level of said hinge. The device according to theinvention, realized thus, is well adapted notably for forming a mobiletelephone in its first extended-keyboard position and an organizer inits reduced-keyboard position. The combination of a mobile telephonewith another device, notably an organizer, is interesting because, forexample, the organizer enables to immediately register pieces ofinformation obtained by telephone.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] These and other aspects of the invention are apparent from andwill be elucidated with reference to the embodiment(s) describedhereinafter, which constitute a non-limitative example.

[0010] In the drawings:

[0011]FIG. 1 represents in A a front view and in B a side view of adevice according to the invention in its second position; in C a frontview and in D a side view, of the same device in its first position,

[0012]FIG. 2 diagrammatically represents in A a front view and in B aside view of the main fixed part of the device of FIG. 1; in C a frontview and in D a side view of the second movable part of the keyboard ofthe device of FIG. 1,

[0013]FIG. 3 represents in A a side view and in B a front view of thedetail of the immobilizing means of the second movable part of thekeyboard and of means establishing electrical contact, and

[0014]FIG. 4 shows in a side view a preferred embodiment of the secondmovable part of the keyboard.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] The device 10 represented in FIGS. 1A and 1B has the appearanceand functionalities of a conventional mobile telephone. On a main side,FIG. 1A, it comprises an antenna 1 and means for connection to a usersuch as an earphone 2, a microphone 3, a keyboard with keys formed intwo parts 4 and 5 and a display 6 which is preferably a liquid crystaldisplay called LCD. In known manner, a first part 5 of the keyboard,which is in this case the lower part, is fixed and preferably comprisesin the form of keys 5A the part reserved for dialing, that is, the tendigits and the asterisk and square buttons. The second part 4 of thekeyboard is movable according to the invention. In the embodiment ofFIG. 1 and as represented in the FIGS. 1A and 1B, the part 4 has beenhandled by pivoting it around a hinge 7 so as to have it occupy a highposition called second position, in which it features keys 4A and whichenables to obtain a large keyboard called extended keyboard. The parts 4and 5 of the keyboard are substantially square and of equal size. Thisis necessary and is linked with the fact that in its first positionrepresented in FIGS. 1C and 1D, the keys 4A and 5A are situated oppositeone another and nearly in contact with one another, thus being renderedinaccessible and protected.

[0016] For a use as a mobile telephone, the number of keys 4A may bereduced to about 6 which, added to the 12 keys 5A, form a sufficientnumber. However, it will be noted that the keys 4A could be brought tothe number of 12, like for the keys 5A, which enables to transform thedevice of FIGS. 1A and 1B into a pocket calculator by means of anappropriate supplementary programming of the device and an electricswitch-over, for example, by means of a key 8 capable of occupying twolateral positions among the keys 4A to enable the change from mobile tocalculator or vice versa, these two perfections being within the scopeof a person of ordinary skill in the art. It will be noted that in theFIGS. 1A and 1B the mobile keyboard 4 masks the greater lower part ofthe display, whose upper part 6A, only visible in these Figures, andonly the upper part, is designed for being programmable when the devicefunctions as a mobile or as a calculator. If the miniaturization of thedevice is much advanced, the number of the keys 5A or 4A is reduced to amaximum of 9 and it becomes difficult if not impossible to transform thedevice into a calculator in its configuration of the FIGS. 1A and 1B.

[0017] In the FIGS. 1C and 1D, the device described above is representedwith its second movable part 4 of the keyboard in its first position,that is, in its low position, in which it masks the keys 5A and featureskeys 4C whose number is equal or substantially equal to that of the keys4A or 5A. This is a reduced keyboard compared to the keyboard of FIGS.1A and 1B which is called extended. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, thechange from the second to the first position has been obtained bypivoting the part 4 of the keyboard through 180 degrees around the hinge7. It will be noted that at the start of this manoeuvre the keys 4A and5A of the extended keyboard, which were only accessible, have all becomeinaccessible and replaced, as regards the keyboard, by the keys 4Cwhich, in the embodiment of FIGS. 1A and 1B, are inaccessible as theyare situated on the main side of the mobile part 4 opposite the mainside that supports the keys 4A. It will also be noted that the manoeuvreindicated above has not changed the size of the device. The device ofFIGS. 1C and 1D may be either the same device as that of FIGS. 1A and1B, in essence, advantageously a mobile telephone, or another device,advantageously a personal organizer. If it is a question of a mobiletelephone in the two configurations, no electric switching is necessarywhen a change is made from the configuration 1A to the configuration 1C.In that case, the device that has a reduced keyboard and a notablyenlarged display because there is no masking of the keyboard by themovable part, may advantageously be used for scrolling the menu for thepurpose of data or modifications, a large screen being useful for thispurpose and a keyboard that no longer needs keys for the digits can bereduced (an incoming call always remains possible during this use).

[0018] The device of FIGS. 1C and 1D may advantageously also be apersonal organizer, the change of functionalities being obtained eitherautomatically by any known means during the handling discussed above forthe movable part 4, or manually by means of a key 4C (not shown) similarto the key 8 of FIG. 1A. The latter option is interesting in that itpermits an operation either as a mobile telephone as described above, oras an organizer in its configuration with a reduced keyboard. If thedevice is a personal organizer, in the configuration 1C, the displayscreen 6 may have sensitive areas enabling the user to enter data bytouching the screen, and the keys 4C may comprise a pointer element 11of the trackball type.

[0019] For realizing the necessary electrical connection between themovable part 4 of the keyboard and a printed circuit (not shown) insidethe housing of the device 10, connection means are provided which, inthe embodiment of FIG. 1, are formed by a flat cable of conducting wires12, which crosses the main side of the device through a slot 13 made atthe level of the hinge (see FIG. 1).

[0020]FIG. 2 represents in C and D the movable part of the keyboard 4disengaged from the rest of the device referenced 20, which enables tobetter appreciate the composition of the hinge 7 that connects these twoelements (the keys 4A, 5A and 4C have not been represented so as not tooverload the drawings). FIG. 2 represents neither the microphone nor theearphone and the antenna 1 is represented in a broken line, all this toindicate that the device 20 could not be a mobile telephone or even aradio communication device, but another type of electronic device suchas a pocket calculator, for example, in its configuration according towhich the keyboard is in its second, extended, position.

[0021] The embodiment of FIG. 2 comprises stop means to stop the movablepart 4 of the keyboard in the first or second position. These meanscomprise a magnet 21 fixed to the part 4 of the keyboard, and a magneticpart 22, 23 respectively, correspondingly fixed to the main side of thedevice 20. It is also possible to replace the magnetic parts 22 and 23by magnets and the magnet 21 by a corresponding magnetic part.

[0022] As indicated above, establishing an electrical contact inside thedevice may be necessary when the change from one to the other positionof part 4 of the keyboard is accompanied with a modification of thefunctionalities of the device. Establishing this contact could berealized (in a manner not shown) at the level of the hinge 7 by usingthe 180-degree movement effected during the displacement of part 4.Advantageously, this contact can also be established at the level of thestop means 21, 22, 23 of the movable part 4, as described below withreference to FIG. 3.

[0023]FIG. 3 shows a portion of part 4 of the keyboard that includes amagnet 21. Opposite occurs the magnetic part 22 or 23 of the device 20,which is formed by two stubs 25 and 26, each connected to an electricalconductor 27, 28 inside the device. When the magnet 21 arrives at thecontact of the stubs 25 and 26, it ensures the desired mechanicallocking and at the same time realizes the electrical connection betweenthe conductors 27 and 28, which, inside the device 20, leads to apolarization or the flowing of an electric current which in its turncauses the change of the type of operation of the device.

[0024] When the movable part 4 of the keyboard is put in place in itsfirst or second position, one should see to it that the keys 4A or 4C donot come into contact with parts of the main side of the device 10 or20, that is to say, with the screen 6 or with the keys 5A. For thispurpose, an advantageous embodiment of the invention comprises givingeach face of the part 4 a slightly reflex curve as represented in FIG.4, and the same measure may be taken as regards part 5 of the fixedkeyboard or display screen 6. Thus, although projecting, the keys remainslightly retracted relative to the area of the parts of the keyboardsupporting them and the contacts of the main side with the part 4positioned at the level of these areas, which provides both a goodsupport for the useful keys and a good protection for the hidden,inaccessible, keys.

1. An electronic device with a main side having user connection means such as a keyboard with keys and a display, characterized in that a first part of the keyboard is fixed and that a second part, permanently firmly attached to said device, comprises positioning means so that it is movable between two operational positions for which said device retains an invariable size, a first position in which said keyboard is called reduced and a second position in which said keyboard is called extended, and such that the change from one position to the other renders the keys of the keyboard accessible to said user for the end position and keys of the keyboard inaccessible for the starting position.
 2. An electronic device as claimed in claim 1 , characterized in that in the second position, with the keyboard extended, said movable part of the keyboard masks part of said display.
 3. An electronic device as claimed in claim 2 , characterized in that said movable part of the keyboard comprises pivoting means for pivoting from one position to the other around a hinge located on said main side, between an edge of the display and an edge of the first fixed part of the keyboard, and in that this movable part of the keyboard comprises a key configuration on each of its main sides, and connection means for connecting to electronic elements located inside the housing of the device.
 4. An electronic device as claimed in claim 3 , characterized in that said connection means are formed by a flat cable of conducting wires which cross the main side of the device through a recess made at the level of said hinge.
 5. An electronic device as claimed in one of the claims 3 or 4, characterized in that it comprises stop means to stop said movable part of the keyboard in said first or second position.
 6. An electronic device as claimed in claim 5 , characterized in that said stop means comprise at least a magnet (a magnetic piece, respectively) fixed to said movable part and at least two magnetic pieces (two magnets, respectively) fixed to said main side.
 7. A device as claimed in one of the claims 2 to 6 characterized in that the device is a mobile telephone.
 8. A device as claimed in one of the claims 2 to 6 , characterized in that the device is a mobile telephone when said keyboard is extended, in its second position, and an organizer when said keyboard is reduced, in its first position.
 9. A device as claimed in claim 8 , characterized in that it comprises means for setting up an electrical contact when the movable part is stopped in one or the other operational position. 